


Something In Common

by helloferelith



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: AU, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Pining, Slow Burn-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21606349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloferelith/pseuds/helloferelith
Summary: Ever since Lucas was voted ‘Perfect Couple That Never Was’ with Eliott Demaury in the yearbook superlatives, his friends have been pushing him to ask the boy out. The match-up confuses him though, he just can’t picture himself with someone like Eliott.
Relationships: Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant
Comments: 34
Kudos: 311





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know if yearbooks, superlatives and yearbook committees are actually a thing outside of the US, but let’s just suspend disbelief and go with it.

Famous photographs throughout history are plastered over every inch of wall space inside Mr Caron’s journalism classroom. Directly above Lucas’ computer monitor is a photograph of Neil Armstrong’s footprint on the moon, something which he’s found oddly inspiring throughout his time on the yearbook committee.

Mr Caron had told them on their first day, that a picture is worth a thousand words and these posters were his proof. He was right. Descriptions in history books can read like old news, but the photographs always made him want to stand up and make a difference in the world. 

Lucas’ gaze falls from the poster to his computer screen, which is currently filled with pictures of Elliot Demaury. A few weeks ago, on the first day of his third year, their class had elected all of the superlatives and _somehow_ he and Elliot had been voted ‘Perfect Couple That Never Was.’ He knew it had to be some sort of joke. Eliott had dated a long list of people over summer and Lucas had been casually dating Marius Dubois for the past five weeks, after meeting him on the yearbook committee. Being named as part of a perfect couple while they were both dating other people had been embarrassing at first, it was anything but perfect. The very idea of Lucas and _Elliot_ as a couple made about as much sense as snow in July. 

Elliot is an impulsive, popular, artist..and sure throughout their twelve years of school together, Lucas had liked him because he’s friendly when he wants to be and  _ so damn attractive _ ..but he also scares the hell out of him.

He can’t see himself dating someone who has already almost lost their driver’s license for speeding, is forever in the principal's office for playing pranks or missing classes and has daily drama with one ex or another. And likewise, Elliot would never fall for law-abiding, sensible Lucas. So he hadn’t gone after him like his friends had urged him to, instead he’d just found excuses to curiously snap photos of him for the yearbook. For the creative arts section, he’d taken a photo of him in front of his canvas, he looked exasperated with his work. One of his arms was held out to the side, his hand wielding a paint brush and his head was tilted back staring up at the ceiling, as if he was asking for inspiration from the heavens above. For the candid section section, he’d taken a photo at one of Daphne’s parties. He’d captured him leaning against the balcony railing, smiling devilishly at something his friend Sofiane had said. Lucas had to crop out the beer bottles at their feet. For the full-colour page, he’d taken a close up photo of him studying in the library, his usually styled hair was pushed back from his forehead with one hand and he wore a green shirt that made his eyes glow. Girls and Guys all over school would thank him for that one when they received their yearbooks. 

Elliot reminded him of that famous photograph from World War II of the soldier celebrating winning the war in Times Square, by sweeping some woman off her feet. He was spontaneous, passionate and self-assured. Lucas only wished he could be that person.

“You’ve been staring at Elliot for half an hour” Marius says, rolling his chair along the aisle until he’s right next to Lucas.  _ Busted.  _ “You’re not taking that perfect couple thing seriously are you?” the boy asks, frowning.

“No. Of course not” Lucas says. He should have just left it there and stopped talking, but he couldn’t. “Why do you think him and I are so mismatched anyway? Because he’s popular and I’ve had the same small group of friends since elementary?”

“ _ No _ , it’s more because he broke his leg in 6ème trying to jump his go-cart over a stream and you’re the type of person who tries to  _ stop _ their friends from doing stupid stuff” Marius smirks.

“I see your point” Lucas snorts. 

“Besides,  _ we’re _ the perfect couple” Marius nudges him with his elbow. “So quit staring” 

_ Oh right.  _ Lucas and Marius were dating now. Lucas feigned a smile, trying his hardest not to think about the boy on his computer screen. 

“If I was staring, it’s only because I zoned out” Lucas shrugged. “I love that picture” he nods towards the print of the couple in Times Square across the room. 

“Why?” Marius asks in disbelief. “It’s so cliched. You can buy it everywhere. It’s on mugs, shower curtains and notebooks across the world. It’s as common as a fake monet in a doctor’s waiting room.”

_ Yes, because people love it _ Lucas thinks to himself but doesn’t voice. He has a hard time sharing his opinions with Marius. Lucas only half listens as the other boy continues to rant about the photograph, he’s just glad to have distracted him from the topic of Elliot.

Marius bumps his chair over, stopping himself directly in front of Lucas’ computer and closes the screen  _ without asking _ . Lucas tenses up, widening his eyes, he’s fairly certain he’d saved the digital touch-ups he’d made to Elliot’s photos, but what if he hadn’t? The thought of having to redo it all makes him cringe. Lucas inhales deeply through his nose, calming himself down, as he watches Marius scroll through the list of his own files, looking for the one he wants to open.

Lucas’ mind drifted back to Elliot once more. He’s convinced himself the only reason he's even crushing on Elliot is because of the perfect couple title. He’s like a primary school kid who just found out someone likes them and so they decide to like the person back. Only Elliot doesn’t like him and as a third year, Lucas is supposed to be above stupid little crushes. 

Sure, their class  _ thought _ they should be together, but Elliot has never been one for doing what he’s told. 

Lucas grabs his bag from the floor, swinging it onto one shoulder. He grins when he notices Yann waiting for him just outside the doorway, the bright smile he gets in returns makes Yann’s resting bitch face, look a lot less threatening. Most people in school don’t know what he does: Yann is a sweetheart. 

“So, have you broken up with Marius yet?” Yann asks as they wind through the crowded hallways.

“No” Lucas sighs. “Why do you hate him so much?”

“He doesn’t treat you right” Yann glances at him sideways. “It pisses me off. He’s always bitching at you about deadlines or whatever. Why don’t you stand up to him? You wouldn’t let any of us get away with talking to you like that?”

“He kind of has a point about deadlines, if I miss something then it screws everyone else up too.” Lucas sighs, watching as Yann rolls his eyes.

They walk in relative silence until they reach the door to his biology classroom, Lucas says a quick goodbye over his shoulder and takes a step inside the room, when Yann grabs his arm, pulling him back. 

“Emma said that Elliot’s been talking about you” Yann says, pointedly. 

He’s sure that Elliot will only have voiced thoughts which have crossed his own mind too, like how it’s ridiculous they were paired together and how he’d never waste time on someone like Lucas.  He knows he should tell Yan that whatever was said, he doesn’t want to know but Lucas is apparently a masochist because his mouth is moving and he hears himself ask, “what did he say about me?”

“He said you two would be one hell of a  coupling and expressed admiration for your eyes, among  _ other things.  _ Things  which you are not going to make me repeat for the sake of my own sanity and for our friendship.” Yann says firmly, playfully raising his eyebrows.

“Oh” Lucas drawls, thrilled at the thought of Elliot noticing him. However a quick glance at Yann’s raised eyebrows, forces him to turn his ‘oh’ into more of an ‘ew’ sound. The way his friend shakes his head at him, lets him know he’s been caught out. 

“You really need to stop worrying about how things look to other people” Yann says, placing a friendly hand onto his shoulder. 

“I spend my time taking photographs - how things look to other people is all I care about” Lucas frowns, wrinkling his forehead. 

Yann purses his lips in disappointment, reaching a hand out to ruffle Lucas’ hair, before disappearing along the hallway and leaving Lucas perplexed. Third year was supposed to be the time of his life, two weeks in and all he felt was anxious.


	2. Chapter 2

As Lucas makes his way over to the library to study during his free period, he sees Daphne leaning against her locker. Basille has his forearm propped above her, leaning down to say something into her ear, she laughs and swats his chest. Lucas is really glad they’d gotten together, earlier in the week. After a rocky start, they both seemed genuinely happy. Basille finally notices Lucas watching and shoots him a thumbs up with a sympathetic smile, Lucas shakes his head letting him know everything’s fine, before darting one door along and into the library.

“Hi Lucas” he hears a soft, melodic voice say from behind. He turns around to see Elliot approaching his table. The boy’s blue eyes are vibrant but the visible shadows underneath them, are what grabs his attention. Lucas can remember the day he’d noticed dark circles appear, it was about a year ago, and he’d spent the entire rest of the day worrying about if Elliot was getting enough sleep and if not, what was keeping him up. The shadows just seemed like a part of him now though, permanent evidence of his rough-and-tumble life.

“How’s my not-boyfriend today?” He chuckles, with a toothy grin. 

“I’m fine” Lucas nods, allowing his eyes a second to roam over the boys face. He really is beautiful. 

The way they’d both reacted to the superlatives is yet another example of how different they are, and how imperfect a couple they’d make. Lucas couldn’t even admit to his best friends, that he’d puzzled endlessly over what it was other people saw between them. Whereas Elliot had laughed it off, called Lucas his not-boyfriend and teased him mercilessly. He doesn’t seem concerned with what anyone thinks about it, or him. Although he has noticed that Elliot never comes over if Lucas’ friends, Marius or Lucille - Elliot’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, are around. He tries not to wonder if that means anything. 

Lucas’ leg bounces nervously as he sits. “Can I ask you something?” he says quietly, gesturing for Elliot to take a seat in the chair next to him. 

The boy raises his eyebrows as he smiles, pulling out the chair and gracefully dropping down onto it. The sunlight streaming through the window highlights his face, and Lucas can’t help but stare at his cutting jawline or the way his skin glows or how his lips are slightly swollen and chapped from being bitten too much... and when that thought becomes too much for him, he forces his gaze back up to Elliot’s eyes, where he is greeted with a wink. Lucas cringes. If his body is going to keep staring at Elliot against his will, then Lucas is just going to have to learn the art of subtlety, because this is getting embarrassing. 

Elliot lazily reaches an arm out across the back of Lucas’ chair, the mischievous, teasing look that he wears so well, is once again plastered over his face. He waits for Lucas to say something.

“I-” Lucas hesitates, pressing his lips together. “I heard you’d been talking about me”

Elliot’s lips part ever so slightly and his eyes narrow in confusion, Lucas doesn’t know if he’s actually shocked at being called out or if he’s fake-shocked. He doesn’t say a word though, just continues to eye Lucas wearily. 

“I know it’s all a big joke but what if it’d gotten back to Lucille?” 

Elliot smiles as he lifts his shoulders in a shrug, seemingly unfazed by the possibility. 

Lucas tries again. “Okay. Well what if Marius had heard the things you said?” 

This time he gets a reaction. Elliot slips further down in his chair, rolling his eyes before continuing to stare Lucas down. He almost looks _jealous_. They continue to stare silently into each others eyes, but then Lucas can’t handle the intensity and so he blinks, and the look is gone from his face. The jealousy Lucas could’ve sworn he’d seen, now looks more like sleep deprivation. Elliot shrugs, lifting his arms up into a stretch. 

“Elliot-” Lucas whines, frustrated. 

It seems to snap Elliot out of his disinterested act. “I’m sorry okay?” he says gently. “If you want me to say I didn’t mean it, then I didn’t mean it. You know me, I just say the things that come into my head sometimes. Or all the time” He smirks. “The guys just kept asking about the superlatives thing, so I answered with something sexual.”

“Wait..you what?” Lucas’ jaw drops. This must've been what Yann hadn't wanted to repeat “What did you say?”

Elliot practically giggles. Leaning forward, he cups a hand over Lucas’ ear and whispers something that makes Lucas’ eyes widen.

“You said you’d hit that, to an entire group of people?” Lucas squawks, pulling back. 

“Something along those lines. I don’t remember exactly” He smirks, proudly. “A lot of people seem to be pretty enamoured with you, they think the idea of you getting with an idiot like me is hilarious. If they keep teasing me, I’ll keep making jokes. Just warning you.”

“Fine” Lucas grumbles, over the noise of the bell ringing. He grabs his bag from the floor and stands up. “So are you going to this party tonight?” he asks as they head for the door. Lucas has no intention of going, so he is fairly certain the conversation will fizzle out from there, but he doesn't care, he's enjoying the giddy way Elliot looked at him for asking.

“Maybe” Elliot smiled, stretching a hand out to tousle Lucas’ hair. 

Lucas bites down on his bottom lip, maybe Yann was right: it’s time he stopped worrying about how things looked.

He looks at Elliot as they walk, watching his upper body rise and falls with deep, even breaths. Lucas is amazed he can be so relaxed amid the buzz of the hallway - but then again, _he_ isn’t a straight-laced guy whose taut nerves are on the verge of snapping because the mysterious, artsy guy is an arms-length away. His high cheekbones and expressive mouth are covered by his palm as he rubs at his face. As always, he wears his brown varsity jacket, a hoodie and ripped jeans. That’s how Elliot has always been - grinning, uncaring and a world away from Lucas.

Lucas stops by his locker, haphazardly shoving books in and staring down the hallway after Elliot, when he feels a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he’s suddenly face to face with Marius. 

“Lucas” he says, “we need to talk”

Uh-oh. He wonders if the rumours of what Elliot said have finally reached him. Lucas’ pulse races as he sees the boy in question retrieving a book from his own locker, and heading back in their direction. He doesn’t stop, just passes by right in front of him. He gives Lucas a quick glance, his brows knitted in concern before glancing at Marius and then back to him. Lucas gives him a small smile and shakes his head slightly, answering his silent question. _Everything’s fine, thank you._

Marius is leaning next to Lucas’ locker, a scowl on his face and his lips pressed tightly into a thin line. 

“Were you ever going to tell me you had feelings for Yann, Alex _and_ Elliot?” he frowns, crossing his arms. “Am I just some sort of placeholder until you can have one of them?”

“Um..” Lucas pauses trying to figure out what’s happening. “I was never into Alex” he says slowly. The reminder he was once attracted to Yann, almost makes him laugh. 

“I’m glad you find it all so amusing” Marius shakes his head in disgust. “I-”

“We need to borrow little Lucas for just one moment” Arthur interrupts. 

“You can catch up with him later” Yann adds.

“There’s no need. We are _so_ done here” Marius spits out. 

“Y’know one of the things that blows my mind about you Marius?” Arthur asks rhetorically. “How you remain unmurdered.”

Lucas stares wide-eyed at his three best friends, standing in front of him. How did they know he needed them?

“Elliot came by our table and said that Marius was being a dick. He asked us to come check on you” Yann says, reading Lucas’ mind as always. "You good?"

"I'm good" he says slowly. Elliot had asked his friends to check up on him? If he was by himself, he’d have replayed that information over and over in his mind, like a feel good movie. Not wanting his friends to know just how far gone he is on the boy, all he says is “it’s been an interesting morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always comments and feedback make my day :)


	3. Chapter 3

Just around the corner from Lucas’ apartment, the streets had been blocked off to traffic. The sidewalks were teeming with shouting, laughing people, all gathered to march in protest of climate change. He ducked between two metal dividers and walked into the middle of the crowd, trying to push through to the other side before the stampede of people began moving.

Further down the street, the swell of crowd noise soared through the air towards him, signaling the start of the march. He hurried to the safety of an empty doorway, lifting up his camera, he prepared to focus. His goal was to snap as many clear pictures of the march and the activists as he could, to put on his portfolio website. 

As the first wave of people had passed, the second wave rounded the corner. He tried to focus but his heart started hammering in his chest, as right there, centered in his viewfinder, was Elliot. He donned a black surgical mask that covered his nose and mouth, but it was undeniably him. Lucas would recognize him anywhere. 

Tingles of excitement spread down his neck and over his chest. He opened the shutter and snapped a photo of him playfully shoving the guy next to him, who laughed and shoved Elliot straight back. He wore his standard ripped jeans and a shirt that was half unbuttoned, exposing his chest. The sight of his beautiful body shining with sunscreen and sweat from the morning sun distracted him from where he was, until a passing wooden sign connected with his shoulder.

Lucas’ eyes darted around at the steady stream of people, trying to locate Elliot once again. When he eventually spots him, he discovers the boy is staring straight towards the camera. He panics at the site of Elliot coming towards him. Lowering the camera, he clutches it in front of his chest, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He expects to hear the warm tones of a voice that makes his knees weak, but it doesn’t come. Instead he hears the soft sound of Elliot’s laughter passing over his ears, as the feeling of cool wind billows his t-shirt. Hastily opening his eyes, he sees Elliot raising his hands above his head and shouting something into the crowd. 

Grumbling to himself he turns back to the march, lazily snapping pictures. He wonders if Elliot knows or even cares just how close he’d come to making Lucas drop his camera. That’s Elliot though, he’s a daredevil who takes chances with people’s feelings and always lands on his feet.

A few smaller groups pass by and then the crowd seems to die down, so Lucas picks up his camera bag and places it over his shoulder. He begins flicking back through the photos he’d taken, stopping on one of Elliot. 

“What’cha looking at?” he hears a familiar voice ask. Lifting his head, he sees Yann, Arthur and Basille looking at him. 

“What are you three doing here?” Lucas asks, changing the subject. 

“All of these hot activist girls in one place and you expect us to be somewhere else?” Arthur tuts. “Now, don’t change the subject, what were you looking at?”

Lucas groans before handing over the camera, the small screen still displaying a zoomed in part of Elliot’s chest. “I’m not a pervert, I swear.”

Arthur laughs. “You absolutely are. This is disgusting behaviour...be sure to send me a copy” he smirks, handing it back. 

Lucas decides to be brave. “Did you guys vote for me and Elliot in the superlatives?”

Yann and Arthur both shake their heads.

“No” Basille scoffs. “I didn’t take part in that bullshit because no-one ever votes for me, why should I vote for them huh?”

Lucas stares down at the photo of Elliot again. He looks so beautiful and happy and..unattainable, that it hurts his heart. 

“Do you think people voted us ‘Perfect Couple That Never Was’ because they see something we have in common, that I can’t see?” Lucas asks, biting at his bottom lip.

“I think-” Yann begins to say, before nudging Lucas with his elbow. “Heads up.” Looking over his shoulder, he sees Elliot walking towards them. 

The boy stops right next to him, standing so close, with his blue eyes staring so intensely, that Lucas shyly glances away. He finds himself staring at the small dent in the boy's upper arm before forcing his eyes up his chest, all the way back up to his face. Elliot seemed to be staring at where the neckline of Lucas’ t-shirt had shifted slightly, exposing the barest shadow of skin, where his neck meets his shoulder. Lucas swallows dryly as Elliot blinks, realizing he’s been caught staring, a guilty grin taking over his face. 

“We’ll see you later then” Yann practically sing-songs from beside him. He’d forgotten his three friends were still here.

“Later” he replies faintly, his voice cracking. Lucas is pretty sure he’s sweating as much as Elliot is now and he's not the one who has just marched through the streets. He feels a small bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. Holding Elliot’s gaze was becoming uncomfortable and the butterflies in his stomach were overwhelming. So, Lucas resorts to his safety net, looking down at the camera dangling by his waist, he says “There’s a picture I wanted you to see.”

He quickly scrolls to the photo of Elliot and his friend before handing the camera over. Lucas watches his mouth as he smiles, his lips don’t look as swollen and chapped anymore. Lucas likes when Elliot smiles like this, because his eyes scrunch up and the dark circles beneath them disappear. He no longer looks like some intimidating god-like creature, he looks nineteen. 

With a shaky breath, he asks. “Would you mind if I put this on my website?”

“Are you going to pay me?” Elliot eyes him mischievously. 

“Um, no” Lucas half smiles, unsure if the boy is joking or not.

Elliot hums in thought for a moment before speaking. “Well what’s in it for me? Where’s the incentive?”

“I don’t-” Lucas starts to panic. 

Elliot chuckles. “Lucas, i’m kidding. You can use it”

“ _ Oh”  _ he takes his camera back, his mind is spinning. Sometimes Elliot seems too easy going to decipher, he doesn’t look embarrassed by the misunderstanding like Lucas is.

Still grinning Elliot says “So, I guess we should get together sometime soon, for the photo of us? You know, since you’ve taken absolutely everyone else’s superlative shots.”

“Right-” Lucas says breathily, becoming distracted by Elliot’s exposed chest once more. “Yeah, we need to take photos and soon. The deadline for that whole section is in a week and a half” he stammers, forcing his eyes back up to Elliot’s face. “Marius already kinda bit my head off about it, so I can’t be late with them.”

Elliot raises a carefully angled brow at the mention of Marius scolding him. 

“I know that setting up a photo like this when __ you're dating someone can be tricky" he says, mentioning Lucille as a reminder for himself that none of this means anything. "Do you have any ideas for how you want us to pose?”

“I was just planning to do whatever you tell me” Elliot shrugs happily. 

“ _ Oh _ , well I like the sound of that” Lucas smiles. His eyes widen after a second, realizing how that could be interpreted. Elliot’s mouth curls up into a small smile that makes Lucas’ heart speed up. 

“Here’s a thought-” Lucas ventures. “We could go out on a date to take a photo of ourselves. It’d be ironic or something, since we’re the couple that never was.”

Elliot ponders the idea for a second. “I like it. Would it be a real date or a fake date just for the photo?”

_ Of course _ it’d be a fake date, and  _ of course _ Lucas knows this, but the idea of them going out on a very real date, created a swarm of butterflies in his stomach. “Whatever you want” he hears himself say.

“We’ll be at parc des Buttes-Chaumont this afternoon” Elliot says, nodding over to where his friends are stood. 

Lucas’ friends had already invited him to this big get-together in the park, but he’d declined. He was going to stay home and retouch photos instead, but suddenly a day spent in front of the computer seemed like the world’s saddest pastime compared to going to the park with Elliot Demaury. 

“Yeah, I was already planning on going” Lucas says, trying to sound nonchalant. 

“I guess I’ll see you there then” Elliot smiles, turning to move in the direction of his friends. 

Elliot glanced back over his shoulder as he walked away. He looks straight at Lucas, there’s no mistaking it. Lucas stops breathing when the boy winks and gives a small wave. 

Lucas smiles brightly and as he waves back, Elliot stumbles on an uneven brick in the sidewalk. The boy rubs shyly at his neck, regains his balance and disappears out of view.

  
_ Smooth _ , Lucas thinks to himself. He doesn’t even try to hide his smile the entire way home.


	4. Chapter 4

“Just so we’re clear” Yann says from where he’s sprawled out across Lucas’ bed. “Does this mean you’re going on a real date or a fake date?”

“I don’t know” Lucas replies, holding a pillow to his chest.

“Does this mean Elliot’s previous plan and your previous plan to go to the park are actually the date in question, or is there going to be another real-fake date after this?” Arthur questions.

“I don’t know” Lucas says again.

“Does-” Basille stops talking as Lucas shoots him an exasperated glance.

“Sorry” Basille says instead, tapping his fingers against his knees. “Do you want  _ me _ to find out and report back..to..you” his words slow as Lucas’ expression grows darker.

“Thanks but no thanks” he says. “This is already embarrassing enough without resorting to 6ème tactics.”

“Look it’ll be okay” Lucas assures them. “It’s just a yearbook photo, no big deal. I’ll see you guys at the park later?”

“Yeah, later” Yann says, as all three boys climb to their feet and head for the door. Yann stops, turning to give Lucas an uncertain look. “You’re changing out of that sweater though, right?”

Lucas hurls the pillow he’d been cradling towards Yann’s face, the sound of his friends laughter carries along the hallway until he finally hears the front door click shut. 

He glances down at his outfit. Elliot would be at the park and no doubt he’d look irresistible as usual, and then there’s Lucas in jogging bottoms and an old sweater. Maybe he should make more of an effort. Just in case.

Ten minutes later and he’s standing in front of the mirror wearing dark denim skinny jeans and a navy t-shirt, trying to guess what Elliot will think when he sees him.

“I have  _ got _ to get over this stupid crush” he mutters to himself.

* * *

The park is jam packed. Lucas ungracefully meanders his way through the crowd, side stepping families and dogs, weighed down by his bag and the case of beer he’d been guilt-tripped into buying for the four of them. Finally, he sports the cluster of picnic blankets where his friends and classmates have settled.

As he walks over he squints out at the throng of people before him, smiling when he notices Elliot but the excitement doesn’t last as he realizes the boy is standing with Lucille, off by themselves. Elliot is lifting her slightly, tilting her back over the edge of the lake, as she shrieks and holds her hair up, trying to keep it dry. Which might be the dumbest thing Lucas has ever seen. 

He hears a low whistle as he places the case of beer down by Basille’s feet, glancing up he sees Yann sliding his sunglasses onto the top of his head. “Wow Lulu. I did not know you were hiding  _ all of that, _ under those baggy sweatshirts all of these years.”

A flush of colour warms his cheeks, he tugs at the material of his t-shirt wondering if it’s too fitted. Dropping down onto the grass, he leans back on his hands. 

“You’ll knock him dead” Arthur says quietly with an encouraging smile. Lucas can’t help but smile.

* * *

His friends have never been good at sitting still for too long, so thirty minutes later, Lucas finds himself being dragged to his feet, as Basille pulls out a frisbee. The game is soon forgotten though, as he sees Elliot walking towards them - without Lucille. 

Elliot holds his hand out for Lucas to take, encompassing his hand and pulling him closer the moment their hands touch. He follows Elliot wordlessly as they step further and further away from the congregation of people. 

“I was starting to think you weren’t coming” Elliot says as he stops walking. Lucas can’t see his eyes through his sunglasses which, right now, is equal parts sexy and frustrating. He takes a calming breath. What did he mean by that? Had he only been off with Lucille because he thought Lucas wasn’t going to show?

Lucas decides he’s overthinking things, they’re only here for a photograph after all. “Well, you thought wrong” he shakes his head. 

They continue walking, circling around the path until they rejoin their respective friend groups. Amidst the chaos and noise of people running and chatting, Lucas hazards a glance at Elliot, only to find him looking back.  Lucas doesn't know what to do with that, so he looks back out at vast greenery. He could see Marius sitting with his knees against his chest, watching the him and his friends. Another day, maybe his heart would’ve gone out to him but today, he felt cold towards him. The only thing on Lucas’ mind, was getting Elliot to touch him again.

Basille throws the frisbee towards Lucas, but with it comes a small handful of dirt and grit which hits his eye. It stung. He could feel something small and hard against his left eye. 

“I’ll be right back” he declared to the blurry shapes of his friends, stumbling towards their pile of belongings. 

Lucas fumbles with his bag, pulling out a half drunk bottle of water. He pours water over his hand and wipes at his eye but it doesn't help, the stinging is still intense. He tries to blink his eye open but it hurt too much. He was on the verge of panicking, anything touching his eye really freaked him out. 

Suddenly strong hands framed his face, one thumb gently pulling at his lower eyelid. “Let me help” Elliot’s voice rasped softly. “I need you to open your eye.”

“I can’t” Lucas whines.

“Idriss, shield the sun from his eyes yeah?” Elliot orders to his friend. 

Elliot was closer to him than he’d ever been, his face was a mere inch away but Lucas couldn’t even enjoy it with everyone crowding around them and the pain in his eye. 

“Lucas, relax” He says soothingly.

_ Relax?  _ Impossible. He has a crush on a guy who’s clearly in the on-again phase with his on-off girlfriend and had stupidly given himself a mini-makeover trying to impress him. This mortifying experience was clearly his punishment for even considering going after someone that wasn’t his.

Lucas sucked in a deep breath, slowly counting to five in his head. Exhaling, he relaxed into Elliot’s hands.

The boy gently slides down Lucas’ eyelid and the blur of his finger moved towards his pupil. Lucas manages not to flinch as the boy carefully removed the foreign object from his eye. The relief from pain was instantaneous. 

“Thank you so much” Lucas said cupping his eye, keeping the other one shut. He couldn’t see Elliot but he could feel his warmth next to him.

“Hey, we’re going to the snack van” Arthur says. “You want anything?”

“No thanks” Lucas smiles, laying back on one of their blanket.

“Food sounds good” he hears Elliot’s friend say. “You coming?”

“Just a sec” Elliot says, pouring the remainder of Lucas' bottled water over what looks like a cloth.

“Here” Elliot mumbles, holding it out to him. “Press it gently on your eye until we get back.”

Lucas holds the green material against his face, the coldness immediately soothing his tender eye. After a few minutes, he swaps the cloth for sunglasses, unbundling the cloth he realizes it’s actually a green shirt, one he’s seen Elliot wear many times before. Smiling to himself he refolds it and places it at his side.

A while later he feels someone kneel down next to him. “Feeling better?” Elliot’s sweet voice asks. 

“Yeah, thanks” Lucas says, lifting his sunglasses to show Elliot his eye. He wonders what’s keeping the boy here, he hadn’t asked him to stay.

Elliot hums. “It’s still a little red but a lot better than it was earlier.” He gazes down the pathway towards the pavillion. “Why don’t we go there and take the yearbook photo? That way you won’t be in the glare of the sun.”

“Sure. Let me grab my camera” Lucas smiles, pushing himself to his feet. He pulls at the nylon handle of his bag, dropping it over his shoulder.

“It might take some time to get the right shot, relying on natural lighting and what not” Lucas says as they walk side by side across the warm asphalt, their shoulders bumping every now and again. 

“That doesn’t sound too bad to me” Elliot smiles.

  
Was he trying to imply he’d enjoy spending some alone time with him? Elliot kept saying these things and it left Lucas confused. He’s probably just reading too much into it. Lately Lucas’ brain had turned into a Buzzfeed quiz,  _ ‘Is he really into you?’  _ he snorts to himself, ignoring the cute sideways glance Elliot sends his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I appreciate all comments and feedback :)


	5. Chapter 5

As they make their way over to the pavilion, Lucas is starting to regret handing Elliot his camera. It makes him feel very vulnerable and exposed, as the boy thumbs his way through his photographs. 

“This is yours?” Elliot exclaimed, turning the camera to show him the photo he’d taken of a 1990 Dodge Charger.

“Yeah, kind of” Lucas shrugs, he doesn’t see the big deal, it’s just a car. “It was my Granddads. He bought it in his forties after my Grandma left him. I guess it was like his consolation prize or something.”

“So you’re driving your Granddad’s midlife crisis?” Elliot chuckles softly.

“No, he very occasionally lets me  _ borrow _ his midlife crisis” Lucas corrects him. “Which is probably much more embarrassing and I should have just lied.”

“I hear these things are pretty fast. What have you gotten up to?” 

“Thirty” Lucas admits quietly, running his hand across the back of his neck.

Elliot gapes at him, horrified. “You’ve never taken it out on the back roads to see what it can do?”

“Nope” he mumbles shyly, Elliot must think he’s such a dork.

The boy grins and raising his eyebrows. “Do you want me to try?”

Lucas hums in thought. “I hear you’re one point away from having your license revoked. Something about speeding tickets?”

Elliot barks out a laugh. “True. See this is why I need you Lu, you stop me from making bad choices.”

A warmth spreads through his entire body at the boy’s words. He anxiously adjusts the strap on his shoulder, unsure what to say. 

“I read about the art show in the newspaper” Lucas says, remembering that Elliot’s class had put their years work on display a couple of weeks back, but he’d been too shy to go alone and too scared of his feelings to ask the boys to go with him.

“Oh yeah?” Elliot smiles wryly. “There’s clearly not enough entertainment in this city if they’re writing about that. You know that of course, since you drove to the next town over with  _ Marius _ , to see the latest indie film” He sighs, kicking at a stone on the dusty path. 

Is that sarcasm? His tone doesn’t  _ sound _ sarcastic but he has to be, because the slim possibility of Elliot maybe liking him back is a lot to take in. 

Elliot watches him silently, not a single muscle in his face moves. “Have you been having any trouble since you came out last year?” The boy suddenly asks. 

The sudden change in subject throws Lucas for a moment. “No. Well unless you count the arguments with Marius, but I don’t think that counts” he laughs humorlessly. 

Elliot nods. “I felt bad about leaving you alone with him that day. I couldn’t tell if you were actually upset, you never look like anything bothers you.”

“I don’t?” Lucas asks, genuinely shocked.

He shakes his head, lifting his sunglasses from where they’re hooked on his pocket and slipping them over his eyes. Lucas could tell that Elliot was still watching him through his shades, heat crept up his neck and along his jaw to his cheeks, Elliot’s gaze was making him very hot and bothered.

“Okay, now you  _ do  _ seem uncomfortable” Elliot says, worry lines wrinkling his forehead. “Marius has no right to be upset with you over bullshit someone else said. He should bring it up with  _ me, _ if it’s that big of a deal.”

“It’s not” Lucas says, leading the way down the rickety wooden steps to the pavilion. 

Stepping up onto the octagon shaped platform, he instinctively turns and holds out his hand. He blushes hard as Elliot’s hand slots perfectly into his own, allowing himself to be helped up. 

It was a lot darker in the shelter of the pavilion, Elliot removed his sunglasses hooking them back onto the pocket of his jeans. Overhead shadows descended across his face making the circles under his eyes look even darker. He blinks and takes a deep breath, the faint sounds from the park echo around them. Something is definitely up with him.

The boy leans back against one of the tall beams. “It’s not really common knowledge, only my friends and Lucille know”

Lucas moves next to him, leaning back against the railing. “I’m not good at keeping secrets, but I'd make an exception for you, promise.”

Elliot stares at him for a moment before pushing the hair from his forehead. “I missed a lot of school last year, although that part’s not exactly a secret”

“Yeah” Lucas inhales deeply. “I had noticed that. Are you okay?”

“Don’t I look okay?” Elliot frowns, but there’s the slightest hint of a playful smirk on his face.

“I didn’t mean-” 

“I’m fine, I’m fine” he says, shooing away Lucas’ concern. “I’m.. Bipolar. I was diagnosed years ago but it was always manageable..until last year.” Elliot pauses, gently running his finger tips over his lips. “My mood each day is like a surprise, I never know how I’m going to be. On bad days, I spend the entire day or week in bed and don’t open the curtains. I cry and I yell. I’m impulsive and chaotic, sometimes I forget the things I do, unless there’s photos or videos. When my bipolar is in control, anything goes.”

Lucas swallows audibly. How had he not noticed all of this? “And on the good days?”

“On the good days, I’m just me” Elliot smiles sadly. 

Lucas reaches out, pulling at the hem of Elliot’s t-shirt, bringing him closer. 

“I didn’t sit any exams because of it” Elliot continues and Lucas tilts his head back, staring deeply into his eyes. “So, that’s why I had to restart my third year. I’m sorry if it scares you or makes you not want to be around me, I just- I wanted you to know”

For the first time ever, Elliot looks small. 

“You’ve had Bipolar for years now?” Lucas asks.

Elliot nods.

“And last year was the worst it’s ever been?”

Elliot nods again.

“Then there’s no reason for you to worry so much and act like you’re always on the verge of having another episode” Lucas says quietly, gently running his fingers up and down Elliot’s forearm. “We’ll just take things one step at a time, and go from there.”

Lucas buckles under the intensity of Elliot’s stare and looks down at his feet. He can still feel the other boys gaze on him.

“I mean, if we didn’t do that and I let you worry yourself into an episode, then that’d make it really difficult for us to take our superlatives photos and I’m on a deadline.” Lucas says, scuffing the toe of his trainer against the floor.

Elliot snorts before grinning, which makes Lucas grin too.

“I just wish I knew how to unworry” Elliot says. “Earlier when I was looking at your eye, I told you to relax and you just... took a deep breath and did it, pretty much instantly.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Lucas says. “It’s a coping mechanism, I’m super high-strung.”

“You always  _ look  _ calm” the boy says, staring doubtfully.

_ “Me? _ I’m never calm” Lucas laughs. “I only relaxed because  _ you _ told me to and I- well, I trust you.” 

“You shouldn’t” Elliot mumbles, letting his eyes slipping shut for just a moment.

Lucas bites at the skin of his bottom lip, he doesn’t know what Elliot means by that. Why is he always so..  _ Confusing _ ?

“So, will this place work for our yearbook photo?” Elliot asks, glancing at the space around them.

Lucas didn’t want their conversation to end, but it was clear that Elliot did. “No. Now that I’m looking at it, the lighting’s really no good.”

Elliot sighs sounding frustrated, apparently fed up of spending time with Lucas now. “Doesn’t every camera nowadays have a low lighting setting?”

“Yeah, but that slows down the shutter speed to allow more light in which means I’d need a tripod. We should try again in the park at sunset, the light will be perfect around then.”

“Does that mean you want to go back and join the others?” Elliot raised his eyebrows.

“What else would we do?” Lucas asks.

Elliot shrugs dismissively but he holds Lucas’ gaze. “Get to know each other better. We were kind of voted perfect couple but I feel like I hardly know you, even though our class seems to think you’re the love of my life or something.”

“You’ve known me since elementary” Lucas laughs, his heart beating rapidly.

“People change” is all Elliot says, leaving him speechless as his eyes drop down to Lucas’ fitted t-shirt.

“I’ve been racking my brain about this. Why do you think they voted for us?” Lucas asks.

“Well, our class almost voted Alexia as a student council representative, so a good portion of the school is clearly on crack.” 

Lucas giggles, he has a point. Alexia’s adorable but he’d read some of her ideas and she would’ve been absolutely terrible in power. 

“Look-” Elliot says almost impatiently. “You want to know what I really think about superlatives?”

“Of course,” Lucas says.

Elliot searched Lucas’ eyes for a moment, as if trying to decide whether he could trust him with what he was about to say.

Slowly he says, “I think it’s weird for a school to tell students they can’t kiss or hug in the hallways, but then to make us vote for people who aren’t in a relationship but should be. I mean, the other titles are bad enough, but this one puts too much pressure on two people. What if it makes someone think they stand a chance with the other person or, y’know, makes everything uncomfortable and ruins friendships.”

Lucas blinks rapidly, he can feel tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. He heard Elliot’s message loud and clear - he knows about Lucas’ feelings for him and it makes him uncomfortable.

“Who did you vote for?” Lucas asks with a faux smile.

“Don’t laugh” Elliot warns. “Sofiene and Imane, but they ended up getting their shit together so it voided my vote. Opposites always attract, they repel each other at first, but in the long run, they’re the best thing for each other.” He shrugs. “I don’t think it’s up to the school to pair people together though. People don’t operate as natural couples anyway, you get married and swear to love that one person forever, but half the time you unswear it and do it all over again with someone new. Couples are temporary.”

If Elliot had said these words moments ago, when they first entered the pavilion, Lucas would’ve been devastated that he wasn’t coming onto him. These were not the words of a boy interested in the person he’s standing with, but they’d been talking so deeply, for so long now that Lucas knows he’s just telling the truth. He admires that.

“My family is like that too” Lucas nods. 

But then, Lucas couldn’t just let it go. He couldn’t just embrace the genuine moment of friendship he was having with Elliot, he had to bring it back around to his own superficial problem, the one keeping him awake at night. “Have you talked to Lucille about this?”

He nods half-heartedly, waving his hand. “I’ve talked to Lucille about a lot of things, but she doesn’t always hear me. And she has this  _ laugh _ when you tell her something-” Elliot widens his eyes.

Lucas snickers, he knows the exact laugh. He  _ hates _ the laugh. Especially since it’s always caused by something Elliot has said.

“At first you think it’s a cute, nervous laugh but then you realize it’s her response to everything. No-one can possibly find every single thing funny, right?” Elliot asks, exasperated. 

“Maybe it’s  _ you _ and not what you’re saying. Maybe you make her nervous.” Lucas says, internally scolding himself for trying to fix his crush’s relationship problems. 

“Why would I make her nervous?” Elliot smiles, looking baffled.

_ Say it. Just say it. Tell the truth.  _ Lucas felt like he was jumping off a cliff as he uttered the words, “Because you’re so attractive. Maybe, when you get as close to her, as you are to me right now, she forgets what she’s talking about.”

Lucas could feel his cheeks turning bright red with heat, as he stared up at the octagon shaped ceiling, pretending to find the beams really interesting all of a sudden.

Fingertips touch his neck, caressing the skin, sending a wave of goosebumps across his entire body. Lucas lives in his head a lot, but Elliot’s touch reminds him that he’s skin and bones, he’s alive.

“You okay, you seem tense?” Elliot whispers, sounding unsure of himself. 

The boy’s hand slowly moves from his neck to his shoulder, where it massages small, gentle circles into his skin, easing away the tension. It felt good enough that Lucas wishes he’d do it everywhere. 

After a further few strokes by his shoulder, Elliot’s hand wandered lower. Softly rubbing over his ribs through his t-shirt and then down to his hips, until his fingers lightly rubbed their way along the waistband of his jeans. Elliot wasn’t technically touching him, since his clothes separated the boy's fingers from his bare skin, but he could still feel the heat from his hand and it sent shock waves through all of his nerve endings. 

A breathy giggle escaped Lucas’ mouth as his eyes slip shut.

“What’s so funny?” Elliot whispers, his voice low.

“Um. It’s just...most guys-” Lucas stammers unable to find the words, there’s clearly no blood in his brain anymore.

“Most guys?” Elliot teases. “I wouldn’t have expected you to do this enough that you'd have an entire test group.”

“It’s all in the name of science” he says faintly, opening his eyes again.

“Do you want me to stop?” Elliot asks, his eyes darkening as he stares intensely into Lucas’. Lucas shakes his head. 

“Me either” the boy smiles, dipping his head. 

Lucas inhales a shaky breath. He’s not imagining things, Elliot is about to kiss him.

The closer he comes, the more scrambled Lucas' brain gets. He’s so close now that he can feel Elliot’s breath ghosting over his lips. The anticipation creates fireworks in his stomach, but suddenly he backs away, nodding towards the dust and mud covered steps. Dazed, Lucas turns around and sees Marius walking down the steps towards them.

“Lucas” He calls out. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“I’ve been right here” Lucas tries to smile, but he knows it probably looks more like a grimace.

Marius’ eyes cut to Elliot, giving him a displeased look. If Elliot notices then he doesn’t react to it much, just gives their intruder a subtle look up and down. 

“What are you guys doing out here?” Marius asks, his eyebrows pulling down into a frown.

Lucas holds up his camera bag. “We were trying to get our yearbook photo out of the way.”

“You know, because his deadline is coming up” Elliot chimes in, a tight smile on his face.

“Are you coming back?” Marius asks. “I’d really like to talk with you”

“I’ll be back soon” Lucas nods.

The boy pauses for a moment like he’s weighing up the options of going back alone or waiting on Lucas. Lucas really hopes he doesn’t wait. Giving them one final look, he walks out of the pavilion and back towards the old steps.

Lucas takes one step back towards Elliot, but the other boy stops him from coming any closer.

“If you’re going to break the rules, you need to make sure you can get away with it” Elliot smirks hellishly. 

He leans out over the railing, searching for something - probably Marius’ whereabouts, if Lucas had to take a guess. Seemingly satisfied, he braces one forearm above his head, on the beam and leans forward.

Lucas’ body knows what’s happening before his mind does. His eyes slip closed and their lips meet, Elliot’s mouth is soft and warm. They kiss gently, their lips brushing together. Afraid he’d mess it all up and Elliot would figure out just how hung up on him, Lucas is, he lets the other boy take the lead.

Elliot’s tongue teased his lips apart, sweeping inside. He holds Lucas’ chin, cupped in his hand as he kisses him harder and deeper. Finally he pulled back, placing soft kisses along the entirety of Lucas’ jawline, down to the side of his neck. Lucas shivered.

Elliot drops his hand onto Lucas’ chest, covering the area where his heart sits, before he reaches his thumb out, brushing it over Lucas’ nipple.

In that one slight touch, Elliot supplied him with more heat and excitement than anyone else had ever made him experience in his lifetime. He places his hands on Elliot’s hips, pulling him closer.

Elliot groaned softly against his neck, the vibrations sent tingles down Lucas’ arms. He lifted his mouth up, lightly kissing Lucas’ earlobe before pulling away completely.

Lucas tries to lean into the space Elliot created, already missing his touch. 

“Okay” Elliot chuckles. “I think that’s about as much as we can get away with right here.”

Lucas stands there stunned for a moment, as the realization hits him. They were in a public park. Anyone, including children, could have walked by.  _ Oh my god. _

He hadn’t thought about how this would end. They’d fooled around a little because the school had made them curious about each other, and now what? He was just supposed to go back to his friends and Elliot would probably go back to Lucille, like nothing had happened?

Lucas didn’t want that.

“You go ahead, I’ll hang back for a minute..” Elliot says, trailing off.

“Okay. See you around” Lucas says quickly.

He hurries towards the slanted steps, slipping his sunglasses on as he goes, hoping no-one notices how wrecked he looks. 

“Hey-” Elliot calls out to him from behind. Lucas doesn’t look back though and he doesn’t stop, he just keeps climbing the steps. He’s had enough, he needed to get over his obsession with Elliot. Spending time with him clearly isn’t going to help, because the more he gets to know him, the more he realized Elliot was  _ not _ the man of his dreams. 

He was so much better. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, let me know what you think :)


	6. Chapter 6

Lucas quickened his pace across the grass, eager to put more distance between him and Elliot. As he turns along the narrow path, heading out towards the sea of blankets of his classmates, he notices Sofiene laying across a picnic bench in the shade. 

“Are you okay?” Lucas asks, alarmed. “Should I get someone?”

Sofiene opens his eyes to peer at Lucas. “Yeah, it’s just hot. At least someone cares-” he calls out, in the direction of where Idriss and his other friends are. “How’s the eye?”

“I’d actually forgotten all about it, so it must be okay” Lucas blushes. Now that he’d mentioned it though, it still stung a little when he blinked. 

“And how about the rest of you?” Sofiene asks carefully. “I saw that guy, Marius, come back alone after he’d headed out to find you. I’m guessing you were still with Elliot?” 

“Did he look mad?” Lucas asks.

“No more so than usual” Sofiene shrugs. “I just wondered how things were, since you and Elliot had been gone a long time and I know all this perfect couple stuff could be messing with your heads?”

Why did Elliot have to have such intuitive and nice friends?

With a sigh, Lucas budges Sofiene’s feet off the bench so he cans it down. His head is spinning and he doesn’t know where to start or how much Elliot would be comfortable with him saying. It’s all so confusing. He reaches a hand up to touch at his lips, they’re still tingling from the kiss they'd shared.

Sofiene knows Elliot well enough that he might be able to give Lucas some insight, if he can only word his question in a way that doesn’t make him sound like a total stalker.

“Elliot told me he’s Bipolar and that he’d had a hard time last year” Lucas says, biting his lip. 

“Yeah, he missed a lot of classes and couldn’t catch up. It was really rough on him” Sofiene nodded, sitting upright. “So you’re worried about Elliot?”

“I guess” Lucas mumbles. “It’s just, no-one told me, I didn’t have a clue he was going through all of this”

“You wish he would’ve told you at the time?” Sofiene says slowly, raising an eyebrow. “It happened long before all the superlatives stuff, so nobody knew you-” Sofiene’s voice cuts off, as he notices Lucas’ eyes widen, afraid of what the end of that sentence is. He doesn’t think he can handle the reality of Elliot’s friends knowing about his massive crush. 

“Would you ever have put me and Elliot together?” Lucas huffs out a breath, screwing his lips into a pout.

Sofiene eyes him curiously. “It’s just that your  _ nice _ , and a little sarcastic and grumpy, and Elliot? He doesn’t always choose the obvious options. I’ll let you in on a little secret though-” the boy pauses, looking over his shoulder to make sure no-one else is around. “He was kind of over the moon about being paired up with you.”

“He was?” Lucas gasps, his jaw dropping open a little.

“Yeah. And today, I could tell he was happy to see you” he shrugs a shoulder. “And I know this is none of my business, it’s just, he has whatever it is that he has with Lucille. So just-”

“I know” Lucas interrupts, swallowing the lump in his throat. “You don’t need to say it.”

He doesn’t need anyone to tell him to be careful or give up. It’s something he already knows. There’s no denying the stabbing pain of guilt in his stomach this time. 

Stomping his way back over to his friend’s blankets, Lucas drops down at Yann’s feet. Sighing agitatedly.

“What’s wrong?” His friend asks. “Is it your eye?”

“My eye’s fine. I went to the pavilion and made out with Elliot a little” Lucas replies flatly. 

Instantly his three friends roll onto their sides, staring at him with eyes as wide as saucers. 

“You don’t make out a little, Lucas. Making out is hot and heavy, it’s not something you half-ass. So, did you or did you not  _ make out _ with him?” Arthur asks.

“I made out with him” Lucas groans, dropping his head into the palm of his hands.

“Your turning into me. All those years, your dad said I’d be a bad influence on you, and he’s finally right” Yann says, pretending to be horrified.

“No, I’m  _ way  _ worse. You’ve hooked up with people but you’ve never been involved in cheating, I’m a cheater” Lucas’ voice breaks over the words.

They all smile sympathetically.

“It’s not all on you man, Elliot’s a cheater too.” Basille tells him.

“Funnily enough that doesn’t make me feel any better” Lucas says, cuddling into Yann’s side. 

Further over the grass he spots Elliot. He’s standing with his hands on his hips as Lucille approaches him.

“So, Sofiene told us we should maybe speak to you about Elliot” Yann says slowly.

“No need, he already did it. After it was too late” Lucas sighs. “Elliot kind of felt me up a little too”

“What?” All three of them yell excitedly. Lucas shushes them.

“Did you or did you not-”

“Right, right, can’t get felt up half-way either” Lucas nods.

Yann stares down at him. “What are you doing dude?”

Lucas can feel the tears stinging at his eyes. “Are you judging me now?”

“Of course not man,” Yann smiles softly. “I love you. We all do. I’m just wondering what’s gotten into you, because I told you to make a move and you said ‘no way, never gonna happen’ and now you’re arranging clandestine meetings and letting him handle your junk.”

Lucas cackles at his wording, his cheeks turning hues of pinkish red. “We didn’t- there was  _ no _ handling of anyone’s junk. This whole yearbook thing has just thrown me out of my comfort zone.”

Lucas stares back over at Elliot. He’s standing in front of Lucille now, his chest blocking her face from view. He couldn’t tell what they were saying or how intense it was, but he could see that Elliot stood with his hands placed low on either side of her hips. 

That’s how much their time alone had meant to him. 

“Fuck everything” Lucas mumbles, as Yann wraps his arms tighter around him.

* * *

“Ladies and Gentleman” Idriss announces, bouncing a rugby ball between his hands. “I think it’s time for a game of touch rugby”

Lucille sits up on the blanket she’s sharing with all the girls. “I’m on Elliot’s team” she says, slurring ever so slightly. The girls had been drinking cans of pre-mixed cocktails for most of the afternoon. 

“I don’t think drunks can play touch rugby” he smiles down at her. “You could cheerlead instead, but maybe it’s best to be a sit down cheerleader” 

She laughs in agreement. 

“I’m sitting this out” Lucas says to no-one in particular. He thinks it would be infinitely more fun to play rather than watch, but he needs to stay far away from any sport involving Elliot and the word ‘touch.’

Elliot jogs over to where Lucas is sat and holds out his hand. “I think you should play, come on”

Lucas stares up at him, his blue eyes are practically sparkling in the sunlight and his smile beckons to him like the devil. Before he could say no, he was hoisted up onto Elliot’s shoulder. 

“Elliot, put me down” he grumbles, his voice lilting in time with his footsteps across the grass. He wanted Elliot to know he was mad at him for having his hands all over Lucille, but he also did kinda really want to play rugby.

“Now that Lucas has joined us” Elliot says, dropping Lucas to his feet. “The rules are simple, this is two hand touch rugby. No tackling, if someone gets both hands on you, consider yourself down. I think that about covers it.” Elliot nods to himself. 

“Lucas, you’re on my team” Elliot grins. Lucas grins back, he’s glad he can’t see the look plastered across his own face because he’s bound to look smitten.

“Wait. When did we pick teams?” Basille grumbles, looking confused. 

Lucas expects the game to be fairly boring for the non-athletic people among them, but it’s actually pretty fun. Elliot even tossed him the ball as he ran for the goal line, scoring his team’s first point and receiving a high five from Elliot in return.

As the daylight grew soft and tawny, they ended their game. Lucas hangs back, watching as Basille snuck up behind Daphne and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss against her neck. Lucas was jealous - not  _ of _ either of them, god no, but of the sweet relationship they had.

“That’s it for me” Elliot calls out. “It’s almost eight and I have homework.”

“Homework?” Lucas snorts. This boy just keeps surprising him.

Elliot holds his hands up in response. “What can I say, I’m a scholar at heart.”

“Yeah, we should probably get going too” Arthur says gesturing between himself and Yann. 

Everyone murmurs their goodbyes, reluctantly packing up their belongings. As Lucas leaned down to pack up his things, he could see Elliot sauntering towards him with a rolled up blanket around his neck. Lucas giggles at the sight of him.

“How’s your eye now?” Elliot grins at him.

“Perfect” Lucas replies breathily.

He wanted so badly to pick up from where they’d left off earlier, but he couldn’t allow himself to give Elliot the satisfaction, not after seeing him with Lucille.

“Are you not taking Lucille home?” Lucas asks, his voice firm.

“No” Elliot smiles softly. “All the drunks are getting a taxi together. They’re the drivers problem now.”

He certainly seemed dismissive of her now, but it hadn’t been that way when he was holding onto her hips or rubbing her shoulders while she sat between his legs.

Without asking, Elliot picks up Lucas’ bag from the ground and they walk side by side towards the bus stop.

“So what about us and our yearbook picture?” Elliot asks, gently bumping his elbow against Lucas’ arm.

“It’s too late now” Lucas shrugs, gravely. He’s not sure if he meant for the picture or for them too. Maybe he meant both.

Elliot’s face falls. “Is it?” he asks coming to a stand still.

“Yep” Lucas says rigidly, sighing as he looks up at the darkening sky. “Seriously, it’s too dark. The picture wouldn’t turn out well. I  _ do _ still need to take it before my deadline though.”

“That’s okay. We’ll just need to try again” Elliot smiles happily. 

“Yeah” Lucas says quietly.

After today, he knows he should get this picture done with as little fuss as possible before he falls for Elliot any deeper. Or before things go any further. 

“We could go back to my original idea of the school courtyard, just get it over and done with? Might be hard to get the outcome we want with lots of people around though.” Lucas pouts in thought.

“You’re right about that” Elliot says pointedly. Clearing his throat he carries on, “I have a project to work on every night this week and once it’s over, my mum wants me home, she has this weird thing about wanting me to actually come home and do my homework.”

“Weird” Lucas smiles. “I can’t relate”

His smile only grows bigger as he watches Elliot’s head tilt back, harmonic laughter spilling from his throat. 

“I still like your fake-date idea and well, we both need to eat. What if we meet for dinner tomorrow? That could look like a date right?”

“Yeah, it could” Lucas nods in agreement. He knows this is a bad idea, but he can't help but look forward to it, as if it were real.


	7. Chapter 7

The next evening, Lucas pulls at the sleeves of his denim jacket as he steps out of his apartment. Mika had sworn the dark jeans, striped top and light denim jacket was a stylish look on him, but he had his doubts. He’s never really cared for fashion but he _does_ care about what Eliott thinks of him.

He strolls along the brick sidewalk that leads all the way into town, until he reaches the restaurant. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he swings the door open. Inside is darker than normal, with white fairy lights strung all across the ceiling. _Monday is couples night_ , Lucas suddenly remembers, panic rising within him. _Does Eliott know that?_

After his eyes adjust to the dim light, they skim over the other diners until landing on Eliott. He's sitting alone in a booth for two, watching him curiously. 

Eliott stands up as he reaches the table, pulling him into a one-armed hug. “You look nice” he whispers into Lucas’ ear, before pulling back.

They smile shyly across the table as they take their seats. Instead of his usual clothes, Elliot is wearing jeans, without holes at the knees - Lucas didn’t even know he owned a pair of those - and a dark blue button down shirt, that makes his eyes look even bluer. 

Lucas blushes, thankful for the dark lighting.

“Sorry if I’m late, I missed the bus so I had to walk here”

“Actually, I’m early” Eliott says quickly, sounding nervous. He lowers his eyes to the table, almost like he’s embarrassed. _Eliott Demaury_ is nervous and embarrassed around _Lucas_ , surely not, he must be reading the situation wrong. 

As the boy anxiously taps his fingers on the table, that’s when Lucas notices the splint of his middle finger, a metal brace keeping the finger straight. 

“Did you break your finger?” Lucas practically screeches, trying to keep his voice low.

“Oh” Eliott says, glancing down at his hand like he’d forgotten all about it. “Maybe. Probably not. I’m supposed to have it x-rayed but I didn't want to cancel on you, so it can wait until tomorrow.”

“Does it hurt?” Lucas gapes, reaching out for Eliott’s hand. “How did it happen?”

Eliott just shrugs in response. “There may have been an incident involving a rogue paint can. The hurt finger isn’t on my drawing hand though so, who cares.”

“Right” Lucas drawls, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “How did your project go then - other than possibly breaking a bone you don’t care about?”

He shrugs again, his mouth twisting into a grimace. “I’ve been struggling to concentrate lately”

“Feeling uninspired?” Lucas asks, pressing his lips together.

“No.” Eliott shakes his head, staring intensely at him. “Quite the opposite. I have too many ideas in my head and I’m too excited and jittery to put them onto paper”

“You just need to put the paintbrush to the canvas, take a deep breath and relax, and I know you’ll create something beautiful” Lucas says shyly. “Everything you do is beautiful.”

Eliott smiles at him from across the table. “You always know how to make me feel better” he admits. “Your observations about people are interesting.”

“I watch people. Do you think I’m too quiet?” Lucas asks timidly. “I’ve been told I live in my head too much”

“You speak when you have something to say, unlike some other people who just mouth off about things until someone eventually tells them to shut up” Eliott pauses, smirking. “Speaking of-” 

Idriss appears next to their table, wearing an apron tied around his waist. His presence startles Lucas, he suddenly feels ashamed, like being here with Eliott is wrong. With an intimidating glance, Idriss places an iced coffee in front of Eliott and a soda in front of Lucas, before walking away.

“Did you order those?” Lucas raises an eyebrow.

Eliott shakes his head, stirring his drink with a straw. “I think Idriss is skipping the taking-your-order step of being a waiter. I always get an iced coffee though.”

“I always get soda. Does that make him a really good waiter or a really bad one?” They both laugh.

Lucas glances over at Idriss, hoping it'd give him something to say. He can’t get quiet on Elliot now.

“You know, I wish I’d applied for yearbook editor, instead of just photographer” Lucas blurts out.

“Really?” Elliot asks, leaning his elbows on the table. “Why didn’t you?”

“I don’t like to fail, so I tend to avoid even trying” Lucas admits, realigning the place mat with the edge of the table. 

Eliott nods like the understands. In a way he probably does, his Bipolar is bound to make him feel like he can’t do certain things, sometimes. 

“I don’t know much about photography, but I do know about art and I can tell you’re good at what you do. You have a knack for making people look better than they are.” Elliot says, holding his gaze.

“It’s called lighting” Lucas shrugs, his cheeks flushing a soft hue of red.

“You shouldn’t down play it. It’s talent” he says. “People will keep these yearbooks to show their kids in twenty or thirty years, and your photo will be how they remember themselves.”

_You always know how to make me feel better_ , Lucas thinks but doesn’t say. “I guess art college is on the cards for you?” He asks instead, changing the subject.

“That’s the plan, but it all depends on how the rest of this year goes. One step at a time right?” Elliot smiles brightly. “What about you?”

“I was thinking about Microbiology or something but I don’t know-” Lucas’ trails off. 

“If you’re scared you won’t be able to do it, then you’re wrong” Eliott says.

“You can’t say that for certain. You’ve never even seen me in Biology, I could be awful at it” Lucas shrugs.

“Impossible. You’re too smart to be bad at anything ” Eliott smirks. “Plus, no-one whose actually bad at Biology would want to continue studying it” 

Lucas smiles timidly. “I just worry about people thinking I’m not good enough”

“Who cares what other people think?” Eliott playfully rolls his eyes. “As long as you believe in yourself and what you're doing”

“My dad cares about how things look,” Lucas says. “Which is ironic, considering he cheated on my mum a lot while she was unwell-” he paused, as a wave of nausea passed over him.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me” Eliott says softly, reaching his hand out to touch Lucas’.

“No, it’s not a touchy subject just, complicated” Lucas shrugs. “It was a messy divorce followed by a reconciliation and then more cheating and another separation” he huffs out a laugh.

Elliot isn’t laughing with him. There’s no snarky comments, like when Lucas had told Marius the exact same story. Poking fun, sarcasm and snide remarks he can handle, but Lucas doesn’t know what to do with Eliott’s silence. 

“It’s like my dad wanted to cheat on her and keep her too” Lucas continues awkwardly. As he says the words, he realizes he’s describing his current situation with Eliott. The boy had made out with _him_ and then ran straight back to Lucille. Lucas wonders if Eliott had also made the connection, and if thinks he'd brought up his dad on purpose, to prove some kind of point.

Eliott continues to watch him silently, like he can sense that Lucas has more to say.

“I thought it was the end of the world when they got divorced. Don’t get me wrong, I _do not_ miss the fighting, but I didn’t know how I was going to handle everything with my mother by myself. Sometimes I _hate_ him with every fibre of my being, and sometimes I miss him so badly it hurts.”

Eliott sits up straighter, placing a hand on his shirt, somewhere between his heart and his throat. 

“I-” Elliot starts to say something but they’re interrupted by Idriss reappearing at their table.

The boy is carrying two plates of food, he places one down in front of him and the other in front of Elliot. When neither of them move, he glances between them in a ‘is everything okay here’ sort of way. 

“We didn’t even order” Eliott laughs, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “What if I’d wanted something different for once?”

“Did you?” Idriss asks impatiently.

“No..” Elliot replies, slowly.

“And that’s what you’d have asked for right?” He asks, turning to look at Lucas.

“Surprisingly, yes” he smiles bewilderingly. 

“Then I really don’t see the problem here” Idriss shrugs, throwing his hands out to the side. 

Elliot and Lucas giggle maniacally as Idriss retreats back towards the kitchen.

“He’s such a bad waiter” Lucas says, still laughing.

“Yeah” Eliott chuckles. “I give it three days before he’s fired”

They start to eat in relative silence. Lucas thinks it’s a good, comfortable silence but he’s not sure. He can only hope that Eliott feels the same way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realised when editing this chapter that I've continuously used the wrong spelling of Eliott, throughout this entire story. Fuck my life. 
> 
> Thank you all for your kind comments and for continuing to read, it always gives me more motivation to write.


	8. Chapter 8

“So,” Eliott claps his hands together after they’re done eating, plastering a phony smile on his face. “Why don’t we take this yearbook photo?”

Lucas sets his camera on the table. “I guess I should come over there then” he says anxiously when everything’s ready.

“Be my guest” Eliott says scooting towards the edge of his chair.

Lucas perches in the small space, their thighs touching. “Sorry.”

“I think I’ll survive” Eliott smirks. He frees his arm from where Lucas’ body is pinning it between them and places it around his waist. 

Lucas’ body vibrates excitedly at having him so near. Eliott smells of cologne and cigarette. It’s clouding his mind and he can’t even take a deep breath to calm his nerves, because they’re sitting so closely that Eliott would be able to feel it. And Lucas would most likely faint in a cologne-induced swoon.

He tries to stop his hands from shaking as he moves the plates aside. Turning the napkin holder onto its side, he uses it as a platform for his camera. “I may need to do a practice shot to get us centered” Lucas apologizes. 

“It’s not like it’s torture, Lucas” Eliott smiles happily. 

Lucas giggles nervously as he sets the camera to take five shots in quick succession. Checking them over, he makes a few small adjustments and then places the camera back onto the makeshift platform. “So uh, smile when you see the red light and then keep smiling”

The red light blinks and the camera flashes five more times. Lucas retrieves the camera and opens the viewfinder. With their heads huddled close together they peered at the small screen. In the first photo, Lucas is smiling shyly at the camera but Eliott is looking at him.

“I look so lovelorn” Eliott's cheerful laugh echoes in his ear. 

Lucas doesn’t have the time to dissect that sentence because Idriss arrives back at their table. He does not have good timing. Seemingly startled by his friend’s presence, Eliott jumps slightly, bumping Lucas from his place on the chair. He tries not to feel offended.

Idriss very slowly lays the bill on the table, like he’s trying not to alarm them again. “Whatcha doing?” He asks with a knowing smirk.

Lucas glances over at Eliott. The boy’s lips are pressed into a thin, tight line and he gives a small shake of his head:  _ Don’t tell him. _

The only problem with that plan is that Lucas is a terrible liar. “We’re taking our yearbook picture” he admits. “Want to see it?” 

“I really don’t” Idriss says flatly, but he takes the camera Lucas is holding out to him anyway.

“Wow Demaury, did you break up with your girlfriend or something?”

Lucas’ face flushes beet red, as he tries to rid himself of the stabbing guilt that has settled deep within his stomach. He doesn’t dare look over at Eliott.

“The yearbook’s not out until May anyway so-” Lucas rambles.

“True, Eliott’s relationships don’t always make the eight month mark do they?” Idriss says playfully.

“That’s not what I-” Lucas stutters. “We weren’t doing anything wrong”

“Oh sure” Idriss remarks, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “It’s not like everyone else posed for theirs in the courtyard at school. The only reason you two are taking this one here, is so you both have an excuse to see each other alone.” 

He opens his mouth to defend them, but nothing comes out. Lucas has never felt worse about himself. Eliott doesn’t say a word either, he just subtly places his hand on Lucas’ back in a reassuring gesture, one that’s much too familiar for two people supposedly just taking an innocent photograph for school.

Idriss stares pointedly at Eliott. “You do know Lucille is going to shit a brick when she sees this photo right?” 

Eliott continues to say nothing. Lucas stares at Idriss’ retreating form, his words playing over and over again in Lucas’ mind.

“I’ve got this” Eliott says, pulling his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans.

“We should split it” Lucas says, pulling a few loose notes from his own pocket. “It is a  _ fake _ date after all, right?”

He hopes he doesn’t sound as bitter as he feels.

As they make their way out of the restaurant, he stares down at the camera hanging from his neck. “Maybe Idriss is right. Should we just try taking the picture again in school?”

"You tell me” Eliott says, “you’re the one that’s so concerned about what other people think”

Lucas looks into Eliott’s eyes, holding his gaze. A chill washes over him. Electricity pings between them just like it had at the pavilion, even though they aren’t touching this time. It felt as though Eliott was challenging him. Lucas felt a connection with him, way stronger than anything he’d ever experienced before, but if Lucille was still in the picture then Lucas couldn’t play along.

“I don’t have any other ideas for a photo right now” Lucas sighs, finally tearing his eyes away from the taller boy.

“If you do, let me know” Eliott says as he walks off. Leaving Lucas standing alone and utterly confused.

* * *

Lucas doesn’t hear from Eliott all the next day and he hasn’t seen him around school either. He couldn’t ignore the feeling that maybe they were in a fight. 

He should’ve known better though, Eliott doesn’t do the silent treatment.

After school, in the library, a hand is placed over his open book. He stares down at the bruised purple finger on the page, it's no longer attached to a splint.

“It’s not broken” Eliott announces happily. 

Lucas smiles up at him. “Good to know”

“I’ve got to work on my project now. Just thought I’d let you know that I’m fine, you know, in case you were worrying” he winks before darting along the book ladden aisle.

It’s not until after Eliott leaves that Lucas realizes he hadn’t called him his not-boyfriend. Maybe there was still some tension after all. 

Feelings of stress take over his brain and he can no longer concentrate on studying. He thinks back to what Idriss had said last night, about them only taking the photo in the restaurant because they wanted to spend time together. Maybe he should reach out and retake some of the other superlative photos, so theirs doesn’t look as strange. 

Frankly, Lucas was getting pretty disillusioned with relationships. The boy he had been dating annoyed the shit out of him, and the boy who made him feel like he was floating on air, didn’t want to be his boyfriend. At least it meant he had more free time to retouch his photos.

His phone vibrated on the table in front of him, ‘Dad’ flashing on the caller id. Lucas sighed heavily before answering on the fifth ring. 

“Hi” Lucas managed to get out before his dad started reprimanding him over the phone. 

He doesn’t interrupt the man, because Lucas knows he deserves everything being said to him. He hasn’t gone to visit his mum recently - as her mood dropped again, he was finding it increasingly difficult to connect with her. And he’s never the one to call his dad first - even though he pays Lucas’ rent. He hasn’t been the most reliable son as of late, and although it hurts to hear, he can’t argue with it. 

“Look Dad- I have to go or else I’ll miss my bus” Lucas lies, feebly. 

The phone line goes quiet for a moment. “Okay, son. Just do better at keeping in touch.”

He hangs up.

Lucas gatherings all of his belongings, no longer in the mood to study, and heads for the bus.

He leans back against the glass shelter of the bus stop, counting his breaths as he takes them, trying to calm himself. Phone calls with his dad always seem to leave him on edge.  


“What’s going on?” A calming voice says from beside him. 

Lucas inhales sharply, opening his eyes. “Shit, Eliott you gave me a fright” 

“Sorry” the boy smiles softly. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing” Lucas shakes his head.

Eliott knows him well enough by now to know it’s not nothing, but he doesn’t push him.

“Did you get your art project done?” Lucas asked, trying to appear casual.

“Not quite, I still have maybe about eight hours left on it” Elliot said stepping closer towards him.

Without thinking, Lucas pulls Elliot into a hug, letting out a shaky breath when the other boy wraps his arms around him, giving him a gentle squeeze. Lucas had only meant to say thank you for not pushing him, but now that he was in Elliot’s arms, he never wanted to leave. 

Reluctantly he drops his arms and takes a step back. “Thanks” he mumbles shyly. 

“No problem” He says solemnly, dropping down onto one of the seats. 

When Lucas doesn’t move, he pulls him onto the seat next to him. Their arms are touching from their shoulders down to their elbows. 

Lucas wracks his brain, trying to think of something to say to the boy he’d fallen for. The boy who was someone else’s boyfriend. 

He glanced at Eliott, finding him already staring intently at his face. The boy opened his mouth to say something but shut it again, grimacing. 

“I made something for you” Lucas says instead, removing the bag straps from his shoulders. He rummages around inside his backpack, looking for the item. “Remember when you asked me how I could just take a deep breath and relax?”

Eliott nods, curiosity sparkling in his eyes as he looks down at Lucas’ bag, waiting to see what he was going to pull out.

“Well, I used to listen to relaxation programes. It’s directed meditation” Lucas explains, finally pulling out the mini usb stick and handing it over.

“A meditation recording? I can think of a better way to relax” Eliott smiles flirtatiously. 

“I couldn’t find the programe I’d used, so I made you one myself, I remember how most of the exercises went and hopefully my voice isn’t too-” Lucas rambles, wanting the ground to open up and swallow him. “Oh wait, you were making a sex joke weren’t you?”

Eliott frowns, looking confused. 

“A blow-job joke?” Lucas asks meekly.

“Lucas Lallemant” He exclaims. “I would never. I had no idea your mind was so dirty”

“Uh” Lucas back-pedals through what Eliott had said, trying to figure out what had sent his mind in that direction. “Sorry I-”

“It was a hand-job joke actually, but blow-job would work too I suppose” Elliot cackles with that damn mischievously smile, plastered over his face. 

Lucas bursts into laughter - because what Elliot had said was funny but also because he’d excited him to the point of giddiness. 

He swallowed the last remnants of his giggle and says, “You’re so different from the guys I hang out with. I can never tell when you’re kidding”

“I’m always kidding” Eliott says, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. “Except when I’m not”

“Okay” Lucas smiles. Eliott always had a way of making him speechless.

“So, you’re voice is on this?” Eliott asks, waving the mini usb stick around. “And I just listen to it whenever I’m anxious or in a bad way, and it’ll be like you’re there with me, calming me down?”

“That’s the idea..if you think it’s stupid, you don’t have-”

Eliott leaned over, placing a soft barely there kiss onto his cheek. 

“We could go back to mine and try it out?” Eliott asks tentatively, biting at his lip.

Lucas just nods, not trusting his words. 

* * *

“My parents are travelling, so we have the place to ourselves” Elliot informs him, as they walk along the hallway towards his bedroom.

He stands by the open door, ushering Lucas inside and then he closes it behind them. Kicking off his shoes, he climbs onto his bed. He clicks the usb into the end of his phone and unravels his headphones, sliding them into his ears. 

Lucas follows suit, sliding off his own shoes and climbing onto the bed, sitting upright with his back against the headboard. Elliot giggles as the recording starts. Lucas smiles down at him.

Eliott sinks down onto one forearm on the bed, watching Lucas. He remembers the first instruction was to lie down. He pats his thigh.

The boy rolls over onto his back, putting his head onto Lucas’ lap. Lucas instinctively places a hand into Eliott’s messy hair, it’s so much softer than he’d imagined. 

Eliott Demaury’s head was in his lap. Something told Lucas there was no way they could go back to just being friendly now. But even as he thought this and his face flushed red, Eliott seemed oblivious. Relaxed, even. 

Eliott crossed his ankles. Lucas knew his voice in the headphones was telling the boy to make sure every part of his body was comfortable. He rotated his shoulders one by one - the recording telling him to work out any kinks or tense joints. 

Lucas lowered his hand onto Eliott’s shoulder, circling his fingers against his t-shirt, rubbing gently. This wasn’t part of the relaxation technique, having a ‘not just a friend’ rub his shoulders, it was probably unrelaxing him, but maybe Lucas didn’t care. Eliott lifted his opposite hand and put it over Lucas’, as if telling him he approved. 

Eliott’s breathing deepened. He’d moved onto the part of the recording which told him to inhale slowly and visualize his body growing heavy and sinking into the mattress. So that he wouldn’t distract him, Lucas stopped rubbing his shoulder but the boy kept his hand on top of Lucas’.

Lucas gazed at his long body stretched out to the end of his bed. When he looked at him from this angle he looked even taller and leaner than usual. His crossed ankles were slender and his feet were long, not wide, almost elegant. 

After listening to a few more of his deep breaths, Lucas started to feel ridiculous for still being so tense. He eased his shoulders back against the pillows, and tried to practice what he’d been preaching, letting himself relax. 

Eliott moved, rolling onto his side. Lucas was worried he’d disturbed him but then he remembered it was the next step. After a another minute or two, Elliot sat up, stretching his arms out and yawning. He pulled the earbuds from his ears and scooted up to sit next to Lucas against the headboard. 

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “Well? Do you feel relaxed?”

“I did” he said softly, looking down at his Lucas’ lips. “But not anymore”

Their eyes locked. Eliott leant towards him. They’d shared a moment like this before, with his face on fire and his heart racing, but it had ended in disappointment. This one would likely end the same way.

Eliott reached up to cradle his cheek. His thumb tracing Lucas’ bottom lip, sending chills shooting down his arms. Their lips met. 

The boy kissed him hard for a second, then opened his mouth.  _ This _ was a kiss. Nobody needed to teach Eliott a thing, he’d perfected it. As they kissed,Eliott’s hand crept up around Lucas’ waist and held him there, like he wanted to hold him in place forever. 

Lucas pulled back, taking a turn at kissing along Eliott's jawline. Elliot lifted his head to give Lucas better access to his neck, then gasped as if he’d never felt so good. It couldn’t be true, but Eliott was making him feel like he was giving the boy, the sexiest experience of his life. 

After they’d been making out for a good half an hour, Lucas decided he wanted more. He slipped his hands underneath Eliott’s t-shirt. Eliott stilled for a moment, before backing up a few inches from him, panting heavily. 

Between breaths, he grinned at Lucas and said, “you have to know what you can get away with, right?”

“Yeah” Lucas smiled sadly, showing Eliott he understood. But he had something he needed to say to the boy. Something he was afraid he’d regret. “I um- I don’t want to do this anymore” he said in a rush. “I don’t like sneaking around”

“Yes you do” Eliott laughs humourlessly. He must be referring to the head rush Lucas gets every time he’s within touching distance of him. He didn't realize he'd been quite so obvious about the effect Eliott had on him.  


“It’s not right” Lucas clarifies. 

“Well why don’t you break up with Marius then?” Eliott huffs. “I’ve been waiting on you doing that”

“What?” Lucas exclaims. “We  _ did _ break up, that day in school. I was waiting for you to end things with Lucille”

“I’m not  _ with _ Lucille” Eliott frowns ever so slightly.  


“But at the park, she was standing in between your legs and you had your hands pretty fucking low on her hips.”

Eliott pursed his lips and shook his head. This was the first time he’d ever seen the boys blue eyes look angry. “I only did that because you went straight over to speak to Marius -  _ right after  _ we’d just made out at the pavilion. Like it meant nothing to you. Like you didn’t care”   
  


“Eliott” Lucas practically whines. “I went straight over to him because when you got back, she was all over you and you practically had your hand on her ass. I didn’t want to look at it”

“I don’t even remember that, I was probably just trying to hold her up. She was very drunk in case you hadn’t noticed” He shrugs.

“How can you not remember putting your hand on someone’s ass?” Lucas insists.

“I don’t know, we dated for a while on and off. I’m sure I’ve had my hand on her ass plenty of times. This one instance doesn’t stick out.”

“I dated Marius for five weeks and he never did that” Lucas frowns.

“Yeah, well, Marius is clearly from another planet if he’s able to keep his hands to himself around you, and doesn’t see how intoxicatingly beautiful you are”

Lucas frowns hard. “You know I don’t have a lot of experience with all this, if you’re lying to me, I won’t always get that”

“You think I’m- what? Trying to lead you on for a little bit of fun?” 

Lucas shrugs. Elliot huffs out a breath, giving him slow, clear-eyed, disappointed look. Then he picks up Lucas’ hand and places it on his shirt. His heart is racing beneath Lucas’ fingertips. 

“Now, that could be because I’m some _awful_ person who gets excited from misleading you” he says quietly. “ _ Or  _ just possibly, it’s because your turn me on”

Eliott holds his gaze as he leans towards him slowly, giving Lucas ample time to stop him, if this isn't what he wants. Lucas meets him halfway. Eliott utters a quiet groan as they kiss, placing a hand into the back of Lucas’ hair and tugging gently. His mouth is soft and warm and sweet. Lucas feels like his whole body is glowing.

Eliott pulls back slightly, panting. He lets his forehead drop onto Lucas’. Rubbing his rough thumb back and forth along Lucas’ bottom lip.

“I should get home” Lucas says hoarsely. 

“Okay” Elliot says, kissing him gently.

“I’ll see you tomorrow” Lucas says as he slips his feet back into his shoes. 

“Speaking of tomorrow-” Elliot says as they walk to the front door. “There’s this art show for our finished projects. We’re allowed to invite our friends and families”

“Sounds like fun” Lucas grins. His smile fades when he has a realization. “Will Lucille be there?”

“Yes, Lucille will be there” He agrees. “But I’m not with  _ Lucille _ , am I?”

He doesn’t add  _ I’m with you _ , but Lucas knows it’s implied. 

“By the way” Eliott says as Lucas out of the front door and into the stairwell. “Do we still need to take a new superlatives photo or was that just a ploy to spend more time with me?”

“Both” Lucas admits, gazing moonily into Eliott’s eyes. “I wanted an excuse to see you again, but we also need to take a new photo. The one from the restaurant doesn’t fit with the others I’ve taken. We don’t have to take it tonight though, we have time”

And when he said that, Lucas really did believe it was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and for all of your kind comments.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, the local news warned that a storm was coming. Although it was still a couple of days away, and anything could happen between now and then, the panic was infectious. At school, people were tense and unsure whether to make any plans for the weekend. 

Maybe the charged atmosphere had affected Lucas too, and that’s why he sounded so on edge when Marius had cornered him during the yearbook meeting. When Lucas made it clear he had no interest in them ever getting back together, Marius must’ve sensed his weakness, crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Is this about Eliott?”

Lucas glanced around the room. Mr Caron - the teacher who normally oversees their meetings and work - was out sick and all their other classmates were goofing off without the usual supervision, there was no-one to save him from this conversation.

Lucas kept his voice low, hoping that no-one would suddenly start listening into their conversation. “You and I dated for like, five weeks, and we argued for probably four of them” he said. “Some couples just don’t work out, and I’m sorry if I made you think it was more than what it was”

Marius nodded. “Some couples aren’t  _ perfect _ like you and Eliott, you mean? You know he probably only wants one thing from you”

“If he does” Lucas says carefully, trying not to lose his temper. “It’s none of your business”

“He never would’ve noticed you, if you hadn’t started following him around like some groupie after that stupid vote. It’s embarrassing.”

“You know what?” Lucas says, his voice rising. “You never treated me like you genuinely wanted to be me with me, and I used you as a distraction. Our relationship was bullshit from the start. I think we both deserve better than that” Lucas says, standing up. He grabs his bag from the floor and moves towards the door.

“I’m gonna need all the superlative photos by tomorrow” Marius calls smugly, after him.

“Tomorrow?” Lucas exclaims, turning on his heels. “My deadline is a  _ week _ tomorrow”

“No” Marius shakes his head. “ _ My  _ deadline for every section is a week tomorrow.  _ Yours _ is whenever I say it is”

Lucas looks around the room slowly, the other conversations had hushed and everyone was looking between the two of them. He shuffled back across the room until he was standing in front of Marius. “I know you’re pissed at me, but I can’t do that. There’s no way” he spoke quietly.   


The other boy just shrugged, as if to say,  _ serves you right _ . “You would’ve had them all done by now, if you hadn’t spent the last few weeks following Elliot around like a sad puppy”

Lucas could feel himself blushing under everyone’s attention. Then he grew angrier, felt the blood drain from his face and his fingers started to tingle with unease. Photography was a form of escapism for him, he loved it. He’d worked his ass off on the yearbook, taking and editing all of these photos. Marius couldn’t do this to him. Except, yes he could. Mr Caron had told them on their first day, to handle their problems as if the yearbook was a business and they were the employees. That meant Marius could change deadlines or fire him completely. 

Lucas gaped at him, willing the tears in his eyes not to fall. “That makes zero sense! Yes, I’ve been  _ busy _ but I’ve still handed everything in on time. If you’d made tomorrow my deadline in the first place, I would’ve had it all done by now”

Marius just shrugs again. “If you hand in all of the superlative photos tomorrow, I’ll consider letting you stay on”

Lucas wasn’t sure if it was his patronizing tone, or the way he’d made this into a scene in front of everyone, or their entire shitty five week relationship. But something made Lucas snap. “Don’t bother. I quit” He shouted.

Marius’ face fell and his eyes widened, he glanced around at the rest of their classmates. “You can’t quit!” he stuttered. “No-one else will be able to redo and edit photos.  _ Our entire year _ won’t get their yearbooks”

“Fine” Lucas grumbles. “I’ll meet your stupid deadline, because I’m not going to let everyone else down. I’m done after that though, I’m not working under  _ you _ anymore.”

The school bell rang shrilly and Lucas hotfooted it out of the room. “Lucas” he hears Yann call his name, but he doesn’t stop. He keeps walking towards the library, his very public shouting match with Marius still at the forefront of his mind. 

When he reaches his usual table, his anger begins to fade away. There waiting in his spot, is a very sleepy looking Eliott, his arms folded on the desk and his chin propped on top of them. He looked so tired that the dark circles under his eyes made sense for once. When he heard Lucas approach he grinned, sitting up. 

“Uh-oh, what’s wrong?” Eliott asked, the smile falling from his face.

“I’ll tell you in a minute” Lucas says, placing his hands on either side of the boy’s face and pulling him closer. His heart beats faster as he places his lips onto Eliott’s. As they kiss, everything beyond the two of them seems to disappear, Lucas feels safe and tranquil. Eliott was his comfort and strength. 

Lucas sighed happily as he pulls back. “We’re out of time to take the superlative photo. Are you free time now, to take one in the courtyard?”

Eliott nods, a big bright smile returning to his face. Lucas takes a mental picture, Eliott’s smile never fails to make him feel weak at the knees. He takes a deep breath knowing the smile he holds so dearly is about to vanish. “So” he pauses. “I can’t come to your art show tonight. I’m really sorry” 

Lucas explains how Marius changed his deadline and threatened to fire him. “He can’t fire you” Eliott protests. “Students can’t fire each other”

“They can in Mr Caron’s class” Lucas shrugs.

“Well did you speak to him about it?”

“He’s out sick, he won’t be back until Monday. I can’t complain to him anyway though, he told us to settle disputes ourselves” Lucas frowns. 

“This isn’t what he meant” Eliott says firmly, then his face softened and he touched Lucas’ elbow. “I wish you would’ve told me to come with you to speak to him, he never would’ve gone ballistic if I’d been there”

“The next time you offer to strong-arm someone for me, I will absolutely take you up on it” Lucas smiles. “But this wasn’t exactly a planned conversation. Doesn’t matter anyway, I told him I’m quitting after the superlatives are done”

“Quitting as yearbook photographer?” Eliott sounds astonished. 

“I mean, it’s only high school yearbook and it’s not like I’m going to be studying photography at college. I don’t  _ need _ to be yearbook photographer” Lucas shrugs.

Eliott nods. “You’ll regret it though. Didn’t you  _ apply _ to be yearbook photographer? You submitted a portfolio, the same way everyone else did, because you wanted it. You earned it.”

“Yeah” Unfortunately, Lucas saw his point and he was right.

Eliott pushed open the door for Lucas, following him into the courtyard. “It’s not the end of the world, sure, and it's not like you’re not making any money from yearbook, but I’d still reconsider your decision to quit if I were you. It’s something you enjoy and you’re throwing it away because your mad at Marius, which means he still has control over you - is that what you want?”

They’re alone in the concrete space dotted with planters. “Stand over here” he says, pulling on Eliott’s arm and leading him closer to one of the trees. Lucas snapped a few shots of him before looking down at the screen. Unhappy with the shots, he moves Elliot slightly to the right, where the lighting is more muted and it makes Eliott’s blue eyes pop. Eliott is smiling self-consciously, like he’s posing for some program they hand out at art shows. To distract him, he asks “so, are people talking about me now, since you and I are.. Y’know?”

Lucas couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence, because he still didn’t actually know  _ what _ he and Eliott were. 

“No” he said. “Well, no more than they talked about you before. You’ve been a favorite subject among my friends since school started this year. Though come to think of it, maybe that was my influence” he smiles, lifting his shoulders happily. 

“That would be sweet, if your discussions weren’t along the lines of ‘hitting that’” Lucas laughs.

“Not  _ just _ that. You have many fine qualities. I used to look up from the table in the lunchroom, see you and say ‘Lucas is  _ so _ beautiful’ but now I look at you and tell them ‘Lucas is such a good person, I love the way his mind works, and his laugh. He’s amazing, and funny and passionate. There’s no-one else quite like him” He pauses, eyeing Lucas behind the camera. “I could go on”

“No, there’s no need” Lucas laughs, capturing some handsome photos of Eliott laughing too. “Okay. You’re done” he said, attaching his camera to a tripod and setting it to take five photos of them together.

* * *

Lucas spends hours putting the finishing touches to the photographs he’d taken. By the time he’s done, his hands are cramped and his fingers ache. He glances over at the clock, a smile gradually spreading across his face. If he hurries, he can still make it to the end of Eliott’s show. 

Lucas runs faster than he’s ever run before, from the bus stop to the school. He slips quietly into the room, trying not to draw attention to his lateness. His eyes roam over the crowd of people, hoping to spot Eliott. He doesn’t see him though, so he starts to look around at the paintings hanging on the wall and at the carefully placed sculptures in the middle of the room. Hoping to find Eliott’s work. 

Finally he spots him, sitting on a bench by himself, at the very back of the room. His feet are spread out in front of him, his arms slack by his side with his palms facing up, eyes closed.  Underneath his hooded sweatshirt, his chest expands in long, even breaths. He was relaxing like Lucas had taught him too. 

A man, who Lucas assumes is the art teacher, places a hand on Eliott’s shoulder, pulling him from his trance. The boy stands up, reaching a hand out as he’s introduced to someone. Lucas hangs back, not wanting to interrupt.  


“Lucas” a girl’s voice called. He turned around to see Imane waving him over. “Does Eliott know you’re here?”

Lucas shakes his head. “It was kind of a last minute thing. I was editing photos, but I got done early and I wanted to see his art”

“You know, he’s been texting me about you ever since the damn yearbook elections. It’s nice that you’re finally dating..so that I no longer have to hear about it.” She smiles, letting Lucas’ know she’s joking.

Lucas smiles and shrugs because he has no idea what to say. Honestly he was flattered that Eliott had told her about him at all, and completely floored that he’d been speaking to people about him for so long. Weeks before they’d even properly interacted. Lucas’ hopeful daydreams hadn’t been so one-sided after all. 

He watched as Eliott nervously glanced around the room, pulling at the drawstrings of his hoodie. Lucas could tell the exact moment he spotted him standing with Imane, a huge grin appeared on his face, as he dashed through the crowd of people towards him. He grabbed a hold of Lucas, tilted him backwards and captured his mouth with his own. He was vaguely aware of some kids hollering and wolf-whistling at them. Maybe this kiss looked wildly inappropriate to some people in the crowd. To others, he imagined it looked a lot like a certain photograph of a sailor and a nurse in Times Square.

If it had been two of Lucas’ friends kissing like this, he’d have made sure to get a shot of it. But if the purpose of a picture was to capture the memory of a moment, then he didn’t need one. He’d carry this feeling in his heart forever. For once, Lucas honestly didn’t care what this looked like. He placed his hand in the back of Eliott’s hair and kissed him back. 

Eliott broke the kiss, but then he must’ve thought better of it and leaned in to kiss him again. He rubbed the tip of his nose against Lucas’ and said, “Lucas, thank you for coming”

Lucas giggled. “No, thank  _ you _ for inviting me.”

Eliott kissed him one more time and then let go of his waist. “I have to go mingle now” he rolled his eyes. “But I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“See you then” Lucas said dreamily, watching as Eliott jogged back over to his teacher and a group of other artsy people. 

He hung around for a little while longer, still partially in a daze from their kiss. When he looked around the room again, people had begun to disperse and he couldn’t see Eliott anywhere. He did see Imane and Idriss huddled together, discussing something or other. He moved towards their familiar faces, pulling out his phone and trying to form a coherent text to Eliott, one that didn’t sound like he was completely high on love. 

Idriss and Imane’s voices suddenly became hushed and concerned. The changed hardly registered with him until Imane said, “Did you see Eliott?”

“You know I did” Lucas didn’t understand what she meant, she’d been right there when Eliott had run over to him. 

“Imane-” Idriss warns. 

Imane tuts, waving a hand in Idriss’ direction. “I mean, did you see Eliott leave?”

“Did I see Eliott leave?” He hadn’t and he wasn’t sure what she was getting at. “Uh no”

“He left with Lucille”

_ He left with Lucille. He left with Lucille. He left with Lucille.  _ The words echoed around his brain but they didn’t make sense. 

“Did you know he was going out with Lucille again?” Imane turned on Idriss, swatting his arm. 

“No” he sighed. “No-one ever knows with the two of them, they are and then they aren’t. It’s a weird relationship. But this time I thought...I didn’t think he would do that” 

“Sofiene warned me about him. And you did too, at the restaurant” Lucas hates the way his voice cracks over the words.

“Yeah” Idriss says slowly. “But I-” he stared up at the ceiling, he couldn’t think of a  _ but _ . “Yeah” he repeated.

Imane could think of plenty to say. She was asking questions about Eliott, bad-mouthing him and grilling Idriss about what he’d known. Lucas couldn’t really hear her though, his heartbeat thumped loudly in his ears. He remembers the first time his Mum had found out that his dad had cheated on her. He was only young but she’d told him, ‘I don’t know why that woman thinks he’s going to stay with her. If he cheated on me with her, he’s just going to cheat on her with the next one.” And he did.

_ Once a cheater, always a cheater. _

Imane clapped her hands, looking irate. “Here’s what you’re going to do, you’re going to march right over to his place and ask for-” She hesitated. “No, you’re going to  _ demand _ an explanation from him, right in front of her.”

“Is that really going to help?” Lucas squints at her. 

“No” Idriss says. Imane gently hits his chest.

“Well it’s sure as heck not going to make it any worse” She says. “Look at him, he couldn’t possibly be more miserable”

Lucas was having trouble holding the tears back, so he closed his eyes. He felt dead. But deep down he was almost as angry as Imane sounded. 

“Okay” he started to move, stumbling forward. 

“You don’t have to do this Lucas” Idriss said, pressing his lips together. “I vote no on this idea. I don’t see what it’s going to solve”

Lucas staggers towards the bus stop, the street lights above him seemed brighter than they should have been, and the night was blacker. A sudden stiff breeze rattled through the leaves of the trees, reminding him of the storm that was barreling towards them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your kudos and comments make my day! Thank you for reading.  
> The next chapter will probably be the last one, I think.


	10. Chapter 10

Lucas stood across the street from Eliott’s apartment building. He couldn’t do it. Why had he let Imane talk him into coming here. The thought of Eliott and Lucille inside his apartment, being intimate with one another, made him feel sick to his stomach. 

He should just go home and sleep. Maybe try to forget that he’d ever even met Eliott Demaury.

A door jingling pulls him from his thoughts. He instinctively glances at Eliott’s apartment building, but the front door remains closed. Two shadowy figures standing outside a coffee shop, a little further up the street from Eliott’s building, catches his eye. Eliott and Lucille.

They’re standing close together, but they’re not touching. Eliott is smiling down at her, the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes though, it’s a sad smile. He puts his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into an awkward one-armed hug, Lucille lifts a hand, she hesitates for a second before placing it onto his back, rubbing up and down against the material of his jacket twice. The hug only lasts for a couple of seconds, and then it’s over, and they’re heading in opposite directions. Eliott towards his place and Lucille towards the main street. 

Lucas panics, flattening himself against the side of the building he’s standing in front of, trying to blend into the stone and go unnoticed. It doesn’t work.

“Lucas” Eliott smiles brightly, jogging over to him. “What are you doing here?” He asks, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“I just happened to be passing by this way,” Lucas said, unable to lift his gaze from the ground. If he looked into Eliott’s warm eyes for even a second, his resolve would crumble. 

“Okay” Eliott eyed him skeptically. 

“Let’s not make a big thing of it, I have to go..” Lucas says, pushing his back off the wall.

“ _O-kay_ ” Eliott repeats, but it’s obvious he’s ticked off now.

Lucas makes it an entire five steps along the street before stopping. Inhaling a shaky breath, he looks over his shoulder at Eliott. The boy is leaning with his back against the wall, in the exact same spot Lucas had just vacated. He’s staring at him with raised eyebrows. Lucas sighed, walking back over, he leans next to Eliott on the wall. 

Eliott swallows audibly. “I felt bad about leaving with her as soon as I did it”

“Congratulations” Lucas said. “You know what would’ve been better? If you felt bad _before_ you did it”

He nodded, his messy hair bouncing slightly with each movement. “I really wasn’t trying to get together with her again. We just needed to have a conversation”

Lucas leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes. He huffs out a breath, bringing a hand up to run through his hair. “This is so dumb” he says quietly. “The other night, you said you didn’t have to break up with Lucille to go out with me, because you weren’t _with_ Lucille”

“Right” Eliott says warily.

“I assumed that, afterward, you would be _with_ me” He said. Eliott opened his mouth to say something but Lucas kept talking. “I was mistaken. What you _meant_ was that you weren’t with Lucille and you weren’t with me. You aren’t _with_ anybody and that gives you the freedom to be with everybody”

“Well,” he said, clearly not liking where this was going. “Not _everybody_ ”

“I didn’t mean that how it sounded” Lucas huffed out a sigh, his words were coming out all wrong. “You’re just a free spirit, an individual. You explained it to me at the pavilion, you don’t think couples are made to be permanent. 

Eliott tilted his head to one side, watching him with curious eyes. 

“I think that’s fucking ridiculous by the way. You’re wrong”

Eliott’s brows knitted into a deep frown. “We said we were going to see each other tomorrow, so when Lucille asked if we could grab a coffee and talk, I said sure. After everything I’ve put her through over the years, I thought the least she deserved was some closure” He rubbed his hand nervously across the back of his neck. “We talked about the past, my behavior and her need to mother me because of it. And, we spoke about my feelings for you” He coughed once, forcing himself to get the words out. “She wanted me to be sure that if her and I were finally closing the book on us, that it was for the right person. She wants me to have someone to lean on and it can’t be her anymore.”

Lucas wants to believe him. He _does_ believe him, but he can’t seem to shake the feeling that he shouldn’t. 

“I should’ve told you before I left. I didn’t think- I’m just...friends with people” Eliot smiles sadly. “I’ve worked on this - my mum made me go to counselling after the bipolar diagnosis - I have this checklist in my mind and these things I’m supposed to say to myself, but sometimes it takes a few minutes to kick in and I have an impulse-control problem.”

“We both do, apparently” Lucas grumbles. “I came here because I was mad at you when I found out you’d gone off with her.”

“I knew you were made for me” Eliott chuckles, putting his hand on Lucas’ arm. “Please give me another chance. We haven’t even had the chance to go on a real date yet”

“What does it matter? You say couples aren’t meant to be forever and I can’t be with someone who thinks that”

“I thought that because of who I was with, it was never the right person. Lucas, I don’t want this to be about me and Lucille. I want it to be about us - you and me. And you’re right about what you said before, I was _wrong_. I don’t want to lose you. You-” his voice broke. He cleared his throat. “You make me feel smart, and funny and like there’s more to me than just my bipolar.” 

Lucas drummed his fingers against his jean clad thighs. Half-way to a delirious decision. “You have to understand something, if we do this, then we’re a couple. We’re _not_ the perfect couple that never was. We _are_ a couple, so no seeing other people”

The corners of Eliott’s eyes crinkled, as his mouth turned upwards into a beaming grin. “I can promise you, one-hundred percent, that I have absolutely no interest in anyone but you”

Eliott’s smile is contagious, Lucas thinks to himself as a big toothy grin takes over his own face. He feels around for Eliott’s hand, grasping it and giving it a light squeeze. 

Eliott moved suddenly, fitting Lucas between his legs and pressing him against the wall. Eliott lowers his head, pausing just before their lips meet. He’s searching Lucas’ eyes for any sign that he wants him to stop, but Lucas knows the only thing his eyes are showing is how much he wants Eliott. Lucas presses his lips against the other boys. The kiss is soft and tender, their lips caressing each others slowly. The intensity of the kiss gradually changes, becoming deeper and harder, there’s a sense of urgency about it. Eliott’s hand finds its way into Lucas’ hair, tugging gently, Lucas leans back into the touch. He knots his fists into the front of Eliott’s jacket, trying to pull him closer into the non-existent space between them. Eliott groans softly, low in his throat. The sound makes Lucas’ head spin. He pulls back panting heavily, the kiss had stolen his breath. Eliott rests his forehead against Lucas’, his breathing just as shallow.

“I have never felt more comfortable than I do right now, right here, with you” Eliot says quietly. “You may have noticed that I'm more of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy, rather than a fighter, but if this-” he gestures between them. “-Was taken away from me, I’d fight to get it back. I’m determined to keep you in my life”

Lucas wrapped his arms around the taller boy, nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck. “Good. Me too.”

Whatever his future would be with Eliott, it sounded like a hell of a lot of fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.  
> Thank you all for sticking with me this long. All of your kind comments make my day.


End file.
